Foreigner's Finances

I started learning about my money during the summer of 2008 and I made some rookie investing mistakes during the early stages. Luckily, these mistakes didn’t cost me thousands of dollars like some money mistakes, but they’re mistakes worth learning from so that you can avoid them in your money life.

During that summer and into the fall , I started reading all kinds of books about money and I realized that as a 21 year-old without any consumer debt, I should be investing my money for the future.

I’m not a big planner, so I rushed the process. I wasn’t aware of the available options – mutual funds, index funds, ETFs – and I thought buying individual stocks was the way to go.

Well, after a year it turns out I was dead wrong with my initial investing theory.

So how did my journey bring me to this conclusion?

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The other day Corinne and I were watching Kathy Griffin’s “My Life on the D-List” – it‘s a bit of a guilty pleasure. Anyway, in the episode Kathy and her crew visited money guru Suze Orman for a little money advice.

The scene was rather unscripted as Suze went around and asked each of Kathy’s crew about their finances. When Kathy’s assistant Jessica told Sue that she leased a new car every couple of years, Suze blew up on her about how leasing was a horrible money decision.

It created an uncomfortable scene, but it was interesting to see how strongly Suze – the financial expert – felt about leasing cars.

There’s a lot of factors to consider when you’re deciding between leasing and buying so here’s a fresher if you’re in the market for a new car.

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There are a lot of big purchases in our lives – TVs, laptops, phones, iPods, Kindles. A lot of the time we think we can’t live without these items for more than a couple of days – maybe a week at most. Often if they break or wear down, we immediately go out and buy a replacement without thinking.

But for people who still receive some presents on Christmas or birthdays, having a little patience and the calendar on your side can lead to big savings with these big-ticket items.

Here’s how Corinne and I saved $750 on a laptop using this savings tip.

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This is a guest post from Mr Credit Card of www.askmrcreditcard.com. Mr Credit Card used to work and live in Japan years ago and today, he is going to give us some tips on how to earn airline miles for a trip back to America.

I worked and lived in Japan a few years ago and during that time I’ve been able to get quite a few free business class flights for my vacations.

The reason is that the company that I worked with gave me a business credit card, which happened to be an American Express. Whenever I took any business trips or gave client entertainments, I always charged to the card and earn reward points. I also had a personal AmEx card and I was able to combine accounts to really boost my point earnings.

That essentially, was my little secret to getting lots of miles.

This is particularly important for expats living abroad who want to save money on trips back home or on vacation somewhere else. So below are some of my tips for earning miles when you are an expat abroad.

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Knowing what to do with your money isn’t inherently easy. It takes time to learn the steps, the tricks, and the right and wrong way to do things.

Sometimes we overlook the fact that a lot of people who are attempting to jumpstart their finances aren’t aware of the financial accounts they should have.

In the video below I introduce a simple way to visualize the important financial accounts for your life.

It’s called the Financial Family Tree and in 5 quick bullet points you’ll better understand what accounts you should have, what to look for when shopping around for an account, and why they’re so vital.

This is only my second video, so let me know what you like and dislike about the video in the comments below!

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As I think about what post-Japan life will be like, I can’t help but think about what it’ll be like to sign on my first official apartment.

Renting is something a lot of twenty-somethings will be doing in the next couple of years, but many have no idea about the specifics of renting an apartment or any other living area.

It’s important that all soon-to-be renters know the specifics of renting before they get themselves into a situation they don’t understand, or can’t afford. From the lease to renter’s insurance, to the hidden costs – renting has a lot of variables that are a lot easier to understand when the idea of renting is in the near future and not an immediate necessity.

Here are the basics that’ll provide you some framework on the renting experience so that you’re prepared and you’ll be able to smoothly transition into the next stage of your life.

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As some of you know, I’ve been teaching English in Japan for 6 months now. Teaching English abroad is a popular post-college choice for many grads and I believe many more people should learn about the opportunities that are out there.

I recently had the opportunity to interview my cousin and friend, Travis Lueth, who is an ESL teacher in Seoul, South Korea. We discussed how he found the job, his average work day, salary, living in Seoul, and silk worms.

If you’d like to follow or ask Travis a question about his life in Seoul, you can find him at twitter.com/thegoodship

Austin: Can you tell me a little about your school?

Travis: I teach at a private school called Hogwans here in Seoul, South Korea. Personally, I teach about 3rd to 6th graders or 8, 9, and 10 year olds.

A: How did you find the job?

T: Last year when I was about to graduate in December a good friend of mine, Joshua, was looking at his job prospects and ended up getting a job in Korea. At the time I thought he was crazy, but about 5-6 months later when I was looking at the end of my lease without any job prospects it became a real option for me.

A: How long have you been in Korea?

T: I will have been in Korea for 5 months this week. It’s been an interesting 5 months. I was woefully and mentally unprepared for what I was getting myself into it.

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Today’s guest post comes your way from the SVB at The Digerati Life – a personal finance site that offers tips and resources on saving, investing and debt management. Check out the site’s coverage of topics that range from balance transfer credit cards and debt management strategies to money management software reviews.

Now that the housing market has fallen to its knees, a lot of people I know are quite excited to buy into this buyer’s market. They are all ready to purchase a new house, and maybe check out foreclosures in hard stricken areas. A good friend of mine even got the opportunity to purchase a large home in a region that was hard hit by the foreclosure tsunami.

Well, if you’re ready to become a homeowner, you’ll need to evaluate what kind of mortgage loan you intend to take out. Granted, you’re probably not keen on doing a pure cash transaction, no matter how cheap the houses are these days. So let’s take a look at the different types of mortgages you can get. This cursory review may help you gauge which loans are ones you’re most comfortable with.

Each type of mortgage loan is designed for a specific purpose. The type of mortgage you would request for would be dependent on your financial condition, the home price as well as the interest rates.

Here are some of the more common mortgage loans around:

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Tax season is here and the last date to invest in a Roth IRA is April 15th.

This is my first video on FF and it’s a simple introduction to Roths. We’ll explore what a Roth is, why everyone should have one, hosting options, and some personal stuff you should consider before opening your Roth.

If you have some time, please leave a comment below to let me know what you think of the video post.

Enjoy!

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